This dancing isn't square anymore

In Old Town Temecula, the Stampede watering hole and dance hall has been attracting Levis-clad customers from across Southern California for years.

Most of its hook is western line dancing, where the popularity has remained strong throughout the last couple of decades.

But here’s a message to all of you who enjoy that kind of stuff. If you ever feel you’ve outgrown the bar and sawdust scene -- and someday most of you will -- you can always graduate to another dance hall not far across the river from the Stampede’s parking lot.

Every third Saturday night of the month, the Grape Stompers square dance club meets at Temecula’s Community Center on Pujol Street and they, too, have been attracting people from as far away at San Diego, Chula Vista, San Bernardino, Riverside and other points in Southern California.

Last Saturday night, the group celebrated its 32nd anniversary. They’ve done something right to have lasted that long and I have a feeling it has something to do with evolution.

Go to a Saturday night hoedown and you’ll still find a few petticoats, cowboy hats and western ties. But you’ll also find gangster fedoras, Hawaiian shirts, and even dance commands interspersed with old classics like “Love Potion No. 9” and an Irish jig.

It’s not at all like the square dancing classes a few of us had to take back in junior high P.E.

You might also find a world-famous caller such as Johnny Preston, who’s a rock star to the local do-si-do crowd. From his home in the desert east of the Salton Sea, Preston travels each weekend to square dances in Southern California. Among his other stops are places such as the United Kingdom, much of Europe, and even Japan. He’s been doing it for 36 years, he said, and has a voice that could easily fit into a country rock band like Asleep at the Wheel.

You might also find people famous for other things, such as Brian Tisdale, who was recently chosen mayor of Lake Elsinore. He and his wife, Sharon, and their two children, Nicholas, 11, and Lauren, 8, have been members of the Grape Stompers for a little more than a year.

“We were looking for something to do as a family and this has been very good,” Sharon Tisdale said. “If we make a mistake while we’re dancing, the people here are very good about gently pushing us in the right direction.”

In that sense, square dancing hasn’t changed. There are commands to follow and certain steps to go along with them. That’s why separate classes are offered to newcomers, just like you’d find in line dancing.

And in a way, that’s a good thing. Although the club tries to attract younger members, most of those who attended the other night were north of 50.

And for them, square dancing seems a good way to keep an aging mind sharp and in tune with the rest of the body, while offering good exercise at the same time.

I was astounded when Juliette Michael told me she was 83 years old and still dancing. She looks like she’s not a day over 70 and moves at an even younger pace. I’m told the oldest member of the Stompers is a woman from Menifee who is 94. At that news, Michael smiled and said that dancer could easily pass for 87.

And Andy Abeles, co-president of the Canyon Lake Twirlers, a club that’s been around seven years longer than the Grape Stompers, pointed out there is a good social benefit to the square dancing, too.

“My wife and I have been dancing pretty much since we’ve been together,” said Abeles, who’s been married more than 20 years. “We still have a fabulous relationship and while it certainly isn’t the only reason we’ve stayed together, square dancing is something we can do that doesn’t involve drinking and can keep us going until we’re well into our 90s.”

For more on the Grape Stompers, visit www.grapestompers.net and for more on the Canyon Lake Twirlers, visit www.canyonlaketwirlerssquaredance.webs.com.

If you know someone who would be interesting to feature in a column, call Jim Rothgeb at (951) 676-4315, ext. 2621, or email jim.rothgeb@californian.com.